Li said that he looked forward to working at UD after being “attracted by the great research and teaching opportunities presented by the University of Delaware.”

While he visited, he said that he was given a phenomenal tour of the CANR campus and that felt that “the University of Delaware would be an ideal place for me to develop my scientific career.”

After earning his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in agricultural biosystems engineering from China Agricultural University in Beijing, Li went on to earn his doctorate in agricultural structures and environmental systems engineering from Iowa State University in 2006.

Before joining the CANR faculty, Li conducted research as an associate scientist and adjunct assistant professor in the Department of Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering at Iowa State University.

Li said that his favorite part of joining the faculty has been “enjoying the company of many intelligent people who are willing to take the time to let you bounce ideas off them.”

While he did not teach any courses last semester, Li said that he hopes to teach courses in the areas of environment management and animal production. These courses will be designed to cover the principles relative to animal care, management and environmental design to ensure animal well-being and raise awareness of environmental protection, law and legislation.

Li said that during his time at UD, he hopes to conduct research on four fronts, including “monitoring technologies for animal physiological and behavioral response, assessment of animal-environment interactions, quantitation of air quality and emissions from animal feeding operations, and assessment and development of best management practices aiming at mitigating air emissions based on their character, amount, and dispersion.”

Though he has not been here long, the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources has quickly made an impression on Li as a “very active and collaborative research environment. I am very much impressed by the synergy among research projects and among researchers in the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources.”